Monday, September 06, 2010

Monday Reviews: In the Silence Before Twitter...

Before I opened my account in the late spring, I was as dismissive of Twitter as the next snob, thinking it was good mostly for alerting your friends that you were having trouble finding a parking spot, or that your latte was cold and you were running late, or that you were totally over your AP Government teacher. That's me, eating crow. I've really enjoyed the coerced concision, the exposure to other voices, and the opportunity to file very short briefs about the movies I see, to register first impressions and/or to take the place of longer reviews. As we move on from the Fifties and find out what the fall and winter hold in store, I've gone back and supplied Tweet-sized reactions to all the U.S. releases from 2010 that I screened before I added this extra feature of the site. Remember, too, that I now include these at the top of the dedicated page for each film on my main review site.

Finally, in case you still aren't a Twitter reader, and Lord knows I'm the last person to criticize a conscientious objector to any form of modern technology (including, you know, the car, the microwave, and the cellphone), I'm providing one last tip-off here to my recent reviews of last year's Venice Film Festival champ Lebanon (still playing at Chicago's Music Box), a highly rhetorical but affecting war film; the unusual, insinuating, zombie-flavored indie Make-Out with Violence, which Facets or someone ought to book for a midnight-cult run; the Australian import The Square (now on DVD), which I found disappointing but many fans of pulpy suspense will probably enjoy; Nicolas Winding Refn's Valhalla Rising (now playing at the Siskel Film Center), a stunted aspirant to Aguirre's mad throne; and the chintzy-looking The Last Exorcism (currently in commercial release), which increasingly spurns internal consistency but has much more up its bloodied sleeve than you might be guessing.

10 Comments:

I don't really object to "A Prophet"'s VOR but you made it clear that you thought it was a bit too familiar. So, doesn't that compromise its originality?

And even if I completely understand why you loved "Toy Story 3", I think the formula was present. Still, its way of touching the viewers was, for me, original and the execution was pretty great but it was predictable in some occasions.

And re: Fish Tank. (Spoilers)I was a bit annoyed by how the film made us regard Connor as a next-to-perfect human being only to destroy that image later. And the horse mechanism to prove that "She's not all tough. She has a heart" seemed to me a little rediculous. Plus, if I got it right, the horse is supposed to symbolise her true nature or something, right?

I always, somehow, seem to be nasty when I am critical. I assure you that it's not against you (you probably know that already) or even the films. Just a bad way of expressing myself. Well, "Fish Tank" did bug me a little even though I liked it overall.

James, I love these questions - can't respond to them now but will soon. Interestingly, though, I woke up this morning and thought, "I ought to bring Fish Tank's VOR down to a 4," and did. Had I already done that by the time you wrote in? I'm not saying that I might not push it back up later, but it's definitely a borderline case.

I don't think Connor seems "perfect" in the early and middle, though I can see what you would say that. For one thing, he's quite a showboater, and knows it, even when he's kind. Another way to put this is that he seems intent on making everyone attracted to him, even when it seems benign.

I am glad I added that "(humble)" because I know you usually have convincing answers. I totally hear you re:Connor. I guess I felt that the way he was presented left no one in the audience the chance to not be impressed by this cool, charming guy. I realise now that it was kind of a shallow reaction. And of course it's obvious that he's not so perfect when he knows the girl is watching and still goes on.

Nick, you're totally spot on about the strengths and weaknesses of The Runaways (and it's cool you singled out Stewart's solid work in it). Forgive me if I switch tracks entirely, but I'm dying to know more of what you thought of Zulawski's Possession and, particularly, Adjani's work in it.

In regards to Valhalla Rising. It was very clear, and very fundamental to the story, that Mads Mikkelsen's character was NOT a Christian. I am starting to think that you need to pay more attention to the films you watch, and less time dreaming about new words to employ clumsily.

@ZPJ: That was the detail I felt shakiest about, so thanks for this. In the corrected version of the review I just posted, I confess to the mistake and explain why I made it - Refn lingers enough on the gruffly Christian-hating captors that I assumed whomever they'd capture and abuse (whose image is crosscut into several of these exchanges) must also be a Christian, but yes, there's plenty in the movie that disproves this.

Is it enough to admit that reviewers sometimes make mistakes? Admittedly, I get annoyed, too, when I catch one that matters in a piece of criticism. I don't really think I fail to pay attention at movies, nor do I spend the time dreaming of big words to misuse, but if that's the cup of bile you're serving up with my plate of lumps, I guess I'm supposed to take all of it.

What a terrible review of Valhalla Rising. Clearly you don't understand the concept of this movie. Also, your use of poking fun at the accents of the characters just irks me. If you weren't so ignorant, you'd be able to appreciate the level of character detail that this movie has when it comes to historical accuracy. I also don't understand your need for an "over-arching abstraction". This movie is minimalistic, clearly and i think you're trying to read too deeply into a film that acts ultimately as only an insight into humanity of the 1000 AD. I'd 16 years old and i feel several of your criticisms, while worded nicely, are juvenile and cookie cutter. Open your mind a little.

@Anonymous: Well, I'm sorry you feel that way. I did admit in the review that I find Valhalla Rising fairly confounding, which can be embarrassing for a seasoned critic and filmgoer to admit. I just don't think I'm on Refn's wavelength, but I'm glad you got more out of it.

I dispute, though, that VR is "clearly minimalistic," both insofar as the style is as flamboyant in sound, visual texture, repetitions, and photographic scale as it is "minimal" in incident and dialogue. Even your own summary that the film "acts ultimately as only an insight into humanity of the 1000 AD" sounds a lot more ambitious than simple minimalism, no? As aggressively as the movie confronts its characters and its audience with questions of faith, martyrdom, and the unknown, I think it's worth entertaining that big ideas are circulating beneath and between these brute images, but I think the movie is working in too many directions, and too strongly from the filmmaker's gut, to articulate a clear sense of what those might be. I understand that you disagree and appreciate your input. (And don't be afraid to leave your name! I don't expect to be coddled from people's objections, especially when I see them coming as clearly as I did on Valhalla Rising.)

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